Don’t sleep on this instrumental album from Grimey L. It was released on October 6th this year. I just discovered Grimey L a few days ago through his appearance on the Fat Hippy Records Anniversary Compilation. I enjoyed the track he contributed to that record, so I was interested in checking out his latest release, which we have here. I kind of expected every track on this album to sound like that aforementioned song, but this is a much more sonically diverse LP than I had anticipated.

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The first track I wanna talk about is the opening song, Stambaugh Auditorium. The production here is melodic and lo-fi sounding. I really like the way the bass sounds, and same goes for the percussion. The way the instrumental kind of stutters and glitches out at certain points helps to keep things interesting. I think this track is the perfect length too. It’s just over two minutes. If it was any longer it might get kind of stale and tiresome. It’s a really dope track overall. The following song is called 1520 Elm St., and it’s even better to me. A lot of what I said about the preceding track applies to this one. It still sounds pretty melodic and lo-fi. I just think the loop here sounds even better than that of the preceding track. The piano loop is really nice. This is definitely one of my favorite songs on the album. It’s dope as hell. Track 3 is called North Heights, and it’s the longest song on the album. Unlike the others, it actually exceeds three minutes in length. It really doesn’t feel like it overstays its welcome though, and I think it’s because it’s one of the more detailed and fleshed out instrumentals on the record. It feels like it continues to develop as it progresses, and it has this momentum to it that really pays off. It’s the first song on the project that feels more Electronic influenced. I love it honestly. It kinda grew on me with repeated listens. I think it’s dope as hell. The last track I wanna mention is called Golden Dawn. This is definitely my favorite track on the album. It’s a really chill, relaxing beat. The piano that eventually comes in sounds wonderful. It kinda gives me the same vibe that A Charlie Brown Christmas has, which is high praise coming from me. That movie has my favorite Christmas music ever. The piano here sounds really pleasant. I love it. The song’s fire.

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^{This is a good album. As far as producers go, Grimey L is one of my favorite discoveries as of late. There are a handful of tracks on this album that I won’t be returning to in the future—particularly the less melodic ones—but even those tracks were pretty solid and enjoyable to an extent. They just kinda lacked replay value for me. However, for the most part this album is really entertaining. I think this is one of the better instrumental albums I’ve heard in 2023. Not that I’ve listened to a ton of beat tapes this year, but still. These beats are really good. I’m glad I checked this record out because I almost missed it. Check it out and let me know what you think in the comments below. I fuck with it personally.}

Favorite Song: Golden Dawn
Least Favorite Song: Eddie Loves Debbie

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